Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

A Game of Fate

Chapter Twenty-Four

The reunion was simply indescribable. Usually, lots of the party preferred to keep stoic, professional faces on, but the reunion was just so sweet, no one even tried acting stiff and cold anymore. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and the atmosphere was so happy and relaxed, it was stunning. Even Nico had a smile on his face.

The second the Hunters entered the Amazon camp, Piper flew into Jason's arms. Jason seemed almost too eager to give Piper the biggest kiss in the world. Honestly, Annabeth was happy for them, but at the same time, she wasn't sure whether to laugh or yell, "Get a room!"

After the ridiculously long make-out session, everyone finally settled down, restocking on supplies and catching up with old friends. The Hunters and Amazons seemed to have no problems working together. Probably because both were tribes of warrior women who ate the hearts of grown men for breakfast. Ha ha.

At any rate, both teams were reunited, ate a good lunch, and headed off again, this time to London to meet the Olympians… or more accurately, to reunite them. Annabeth caught a glimpse of Artemis scribbling down letters to the Olympians, asking them to meet up later. She could only hope that they'd listen and come.

But again… Annabeth was frightened of the outcome. She was very nervous about the meeting, but at the same time, she felt good. She felt confident. Percy was with her. Artemis and the Hunters, and all of her best friends were with her too. With them, Annabeth was sure that they'd be able to drill some sense into Zeus's abnormally big head.

Also, Annabeth was very happy about the fact that they didn't have to walk. The Amazons literally had a fleet of battle forklifts. After their meal, the Amazons started the engines, and everyone hopped on. In moments, they were chugging steadily to London at a good pace. Yes, the engines were a little loud, but at least it was better than walking.

Annabeth clung onto her seat and craned her neck, watching the trees and nature stream by. A cool wind blew into her face, washing away the perspiration from the hot sun. For a moment, everything seemed perfect.

Then, they entered the city, and Annabeth nearly bit her tongue off trying not to laugh.

Everyone around them had their jaws smacking the ground, eyes bugging out, and even the occasional person fainting from shock. An old lady tripped over the stroller she was rolling. A little boy dropped the groceries he was carrying messily on the floor. Multipe people ran into streetpoles. Maybe it was the fleet of battle forklifts which made the standard military material look like chew toys. Maybe because it was the sheer number of weapons everywhere. Or maybe it was because of the ladies piloting the forklifts, armed to the teeth with dangerous weapons, their eyes flashing with menace, especially to the guys. Either way, it was all very funny.

"Wow," Piper managed. "Everyone's staring at us."

"We're famous," Percy reassured her. "Plus, we're gorgeous too."

Annabeth swatted Percy's arm, but she was smiling.

But naturally, right at that moment, they arrived at the Olympic Empire Hotel, where the Olympians were staying. The smiles washed off of their faces, fast.

Once the forklifts stopped, Annabeth and everyone else hopped off. Like an imperial emperor, Artemis stormed up into the building. The rest of the party followed almost meekly behind.

The lobbies didn't change much, but they must have told the front desk about the guests that day, because when Artemis walked up and demanded where the meeting room for the Olympians were, the desk manager answered stoically enough. But of course, Annabeth did see him pale quite a bit, and she did catch his wheeze of relief when they were gone.

"What a weakling," a Hunter scoffed.

The party followed Artemis into a room at the end of a hallway. Much to Annabeth's discomfort, the Olympians were already there, and every single one of them wore stormy expressions on their faces. They were the last ones to arrive, and the Olympians definitely knew that. The air crackled with tension, and there weren't butterflies in Annabeth's stomach. There were probably bats flapping in there, stirring up her lunch.

Then, Annabeth's jaw smashed onto the floor, and despite everything, her face split into the biggest smile she had worn in her entire life.

Hazel and Frank were seated in a corner. Frank had bandages everywhere, and Hazel looked pale and sickly, but both of them were alive. Both of them were fully conscious, aware of what was going on, and… Annabeth choked back a sob of joy. Her best friends were back! Hazel's eyes were also brimming with emotion, and Frank was also grinning, but both were very silent, nodding at the Council. Reluctantly, Annabeth forced the smile on her face to fade and turned back to look at the real business.

"You're late," Zeus growled.

"Sorry," Artemis said coolly, taking a seat with the Olympians. "We came back as soon as we could. But we did have a long road."

The Olympians scowled. And despite herself, Annabeth caught a glimpse of Athena. Her eyes were cold, and there was a faint frown on her face. Annabeth knew that she had done nothing wrong, but she still felt a pang of shame, as if she was the cause of their tardiness.

Zeus cleared his throat. "So Artemis, you wanted us to meet. So we all came. What do you want to tell us?"

Artemis made herself comfortable. "I just came back from capture, and what, so cold to me already?"

Zeus growled. Fortunately, Artemis wasn't fazed.

"I'm sure many of you are confused about what is going on," Artemis started. "Now, we are here to fill you in. The majority of you need a very big update of what has happened."

"Please, enlighten us." Dionysus drawled.

Artemis stood up. "Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Only a few days ago, you were complaining about your missing weapons, weren't you?"

"Yes," Poseidon said slowly.

"Well, your children have gotten them back." Artemis said.

Hades' eyes widened. Poseidon broke into a massive grin. And Zeus… everyone was choking back laughter now. Zeus's jaw was smacking the floor, his tongue lolling out in shock.

"How…?" Zeus managed.

Jason, Percy, and Nico raised the weapons, not offering it to their fathers just yet, but letting them know that yes, they got it. Zeus made a move to get up, but evidently decided against it, because he sat back down quickly.

"It's time to hear the whole story," Artemis said. "You clearly know about Luke's betrayal, right? He sent Annabeth and Percy on a mission to kill each other, intending to sow chaos into our organization. Fortunately, Luke failed, stopped by these noble agents."

"Noble?" Ares scoffed.

Artemis glared at him. "When Luke realized that is plan didn't work, he went for something even more dangerous: he stole your weapons and kidnapped me."

"And our children got our weapons back!" Poseidon's voice was filled with pride.

"They did," Artemis smiled. But that smile vanished instantly. "And when they kidnapped me, who even bothered to lift a finger to help me?"

The assembly fell silent. Artemis's eyes flashed with rage, and wrath was literally swirling in clouds around her.

"We thought you could take care of yourself, little sister," Apollo said meekly.

"I can," Artemis's voice was frigid. "Bit it has been days. Give me twenty-four hours, and I'll be free. Both over that, I'm in trouble. And every single one of you knew that."

Now, it wasn't fear that hung over the room. To Annabeth's surprise, she realized that the tension was from shame.

"The only people who even cared," Artemis's voice was now soft. "Were my Hunters, the Amazons, and these Olympic Agents. They not only retrieved the weapons, but also rescued me."

"Great job," Dionysus said sarcastically. "So what do we have to do with all of this?"

"Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades." Artemis said. "You promised that once you had your weapons back, you'd join your fight against the Titans. Do you remember that?"

Poseidon nodded. "I'll throw everything I have at 'em."

Hades wore a stormy expression, but nodded.

By now, Zeus's face was in a ridiculous shade of tomato, but he managed to grumble, "Fine, I'm in."

Artemis smiled smugly. "And now, the rest of you. You have the full story now, and judge it for yourself. Will you join us in our fight against the Titans, or stand idly by while our world burns?"

For a moment, Annabeth was terrified. What if no one agreed?

Then, every hand in the room was raised. Every face was grave, but ready for battle. Everyone was on the same side, standing strong and united.

Hazel and Frank were back. The Olympians were united. Everyone was ready to fight.

As the room broke into cheers, Annabeth shouted the loudest of them all.

And this brings us near the end of the story. Thank you guys so much for the support. We're almost done with this!